FACE Prosecution Against Susan Pine Dismissed (Fla.)

Justice for one prolife advocate gives hope to others being persecuted by Eric Holder’s Justice Department. Susan Pine was accused of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. A Florida judge dismissed all charges against her pointing out that the government had a complete lack of evidence to prove all three elements required under the FACE claim. The court went so far as to question whether the charges brought by the DOJ were the product of a collaboration between the government and the abortion clinic to violate Ms. Pine’s free speech rights rather than an effort to protect those purportedly injured by Ms. Pine’s actions. In light of the court’s comments in the Pine case, one has to wonder what the motivation is behind other FACE prosecutions like Mr. Retta, Mr. Hamilton, and Ms. Parente.